


this unshakable existence

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: four + one: nobori taiga's checkmate five [1]
Category: Kamen Rider Kiva
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Established Relationship, F/M, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Happy Ending, Multi, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 02:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14535117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Wataru receives two presents from his brother, Taiga.





	this unshakable existence

The package on his front stoop draws Wataru’s gaze as soon as he opens his front door to check on the mail and to retrieve his newspapers. Instead of a brown paper-wrapped package or a standard white box from the post office, the box is pure black with a vibrant crimson ribbon keeping it shut, tied in an ornate, neat bow on top. He collects his mail and his newspapers before daring to pick up the box, holding it carefully in his hands, searching for the white tag he knows will be tied to the bow and tucked just out of sight under a ribbon.

After all, the Checkmate Four are not overly fond of people knowing their business.

The package will have been delivered by Taiga’s new Bishop; Wataru recognizes the ribbon all too well, the careful way the ribbon has been hand-tied instead of sewn into a specific design. Though Wataru had seen no one around his house between the time he went to bed and the time he woke up this morning, Nami had nonetheless appeared to deliver the package by hand. When presents from the King arrive, after all, the Bishop does their best to deliver promptly.

Wataru sets the package on his kitchen table and sifts through his mail first, sorting the envelopes into two stacks: one for him and one for Mio. The newspapers he stacks neatly in the center of the table for them to go through when Mio comes downstairs for breakfast. At last, he sets his hands on top of the package, running his fingers over the slick black cardboard, only the highest quality that Taiga could get his hands on.

Though the two of them do not always have time to see each other— Taiga has a new order to build with his new Checkmate Four and Wataru has his own life to lead— Taiga always tries to send him presents. Some of them are from other countries, some of them are just thoughtful mementos or things he somehow knows that Wataru needs but does not have. There is no return address on anything, nor any cards or letters with the presents.

This morning is no different. Wataru slips a finger under each stretch of ribbon until he finds the buttery white card with nothing more than  _ To Wataru, from Taiga _ written in careful script that does not belong to his brother. He shakes his head over this, unties the string, and sets the card aside. There is no reason for him to keep them, and yet he has a small stack just the same.

Before he can untie the ribbon, a pair of familiar arms catches him around the waist from behind. Mio presses a soft kiss to the back of his neck, a gesture that spreads warmth through his entire body and has him leaning back against her almost without another thought. He can feel her smile against his skin before she leans up on her toes, resting her chin on his shoulder so she can peek down at the table.

“Another present from Taiga?” she asks. “He’s very generous lately, isn’t he?”

Wataru chuckles and nods, carefully pulling a loose piece of ribbon and watching the intricate bow slowly unfurl. “He is. I think it’s because he’s happier, lately.”

After Mio had abdicated the throne, Taiga’s Checkmate Four had come together to join him, and they had quickly formed a coalition to bring peace to humanity and the Fangire race, as well as peace between the monster races as well. Though Wataru had seen little of Taiga since they began their work, he had been given the impression Taiga was much happier to have people who cared for him and who wanted to align themselves with his ideals close by. He had been lonely, after all, and now he no longer has to be.

“That’s good, at least. What did he send you this time?” Mio kisses the side of Wataru’s neck before she busies herself combing through her mail, tossing a few envelopes in the trash can.

“We’re both about to find out.” Wataru curls the ribbon loosely around his fingers and sets it aside; he keeps those, too, because the fine quality is hard to ignore. “I don’t even know where any of them are right now, so I couldn’t even guess what he’s sent.”

Mio pauses, looks thoughtful. “I could be wrong, but I think Reo mentioned they were heading for America the last time I spoke to him. That was over a week ago, though.”

“That’s at least more than I’ve heard, but I guess Taiga and Nami are both very busy trying to get their affairs together.” Wataru picks the lid off of the box, smoothes back the layers of white tissue paper inside. Clothing, then? It makes him think of how clothing is often packaged, at least. “I’m sure we’ll hear from them soon. At least, I hope so.”

Beneath the layers of tissue paper are fabrics in red, black, and a deep yellow that makes Wataru think of gold, the colors of both base form Kiva and Emperor Form. Nami’s influence at work, then, he is sure. It takes him a few seconds to put the pieces together as he picks each piece of clothing out of the box, holding them up in front of them. They look like simple tank tops at first, some short enough they would only cover his chest, and before he can wonder aloud why Taiga would send him these— he has plenty of his own, after all— he realizes what Taiga has sent him and his voice dies in his throat.

“Wataru?” Mio looks up from a letter unfolded in front of her, then freezes, her lips parted, her eyes widening. When he offers her no answer, she takes the top out of his hands and stretches the top half of it. “Taiga sent you chest binders! That’s so sweet of him.”

When Wataru and Taiga met as children, neither of them had quite figured themselves out. Wataru was thrilled to learn as an adult that he and Taiga have this in common because he finally feels he has someone to talk to about the struggles both physical and mental, how something as simple as his reflection in the mirror has the power to upset him for days on end. Taiga is wealthier, always has been, and though he insists on Wataru letting him buy him things he might want but not be able to afford, Wataru has always shut him down.

Impossible to do with Taiga off on an adventure of his own and no return addresses to allow Wataru to write him and tell him very firmly to stop sending him such expensive presents. There are precious few shops here in Japan that make chest binders, the market not quite large enough to offset how expensive they can be, and Wataru has made do in a variety of ways with a variety of tricks. He has to in order to live his life as comfortably as possible.

Taiga is luckier, in that respect. When he was old enough to sign off on any and all surgeries, he found someone willing to give him the necessary surgery that he no longer has to worry about layering clothing or leaning on shapeless, softer clothing to lend his body a less than solid outline, folds of fabric hiding what he wants no one to see. He showed Wataru the scars one afternoon, faint against his skin, having healed over well.

Wataru is less certain about surgery, about the pain, about if he wants to go through it and deal with the physical limitations that recovery will bring at this point in time. Maybe later, when he has a better idea of himself and is ready to take the steps. This decision doesn’t make the present easier, though, especially in summer when layering clothing can mean suffocating in the heat and lying through explanations of why he dresses the way he does.

Tears prick the corners of his eyes, and he sniffles as he lowers the binder back into the box, swiping at his eyes before letting any tears fall. Taiga’s presents have always been thoughtful, but this is different than the rest of them. This means more than anything else ever could and Wataru feels his heart tighten in his chest at the thought that even when he has so much work to do to better the future for all of them, he was thinking about Wataru’s pain and struggle.

He was thinking about ways to make Wataru’s life better, too.

“Wataru? Are you okay?” Mio wraps her arms around him, a solid anchor to keep him grounded, her cheek pressing against his. “It’s okay to let it out. This must be a big step for you.”

“I’ve always wanted some, but they cost so much money and there just aren’t that many places around here that are affordable.” Wataru sniffles, letting himself lean against Mio, letting himself trust in her love for him so he can be vulnerable in front of her. “Nii-san must have found some.”

Mio picks through the binders until she finds one of the red ones, turning to Wataru with a bright smile, holding it out to him. “Why don’t you try one on? We can go out for breakfast this morning. I can even help you put it on, if you want me to.”

Through the tears still clouding his vision, Wataru smiles. Mio has been another marvel in his life; he was afraid she would look at him as less than a man, as less than who he is, when she found out the truth. Plenty of people have, after all. Wataru is lucky to have people in his life who see him as who he is, but romance had always been a terrifying thought to consider because it meant putting everything that he is out there for someone else to see. Mio has proven, time and time again, that he can trust her with every part of himself on display.

“I’ve never worn one before, so that’d be a lot of help.” Wataru pulls at the bottom of the t-shirt he slept in, then looks up at him. “We can go a few other places, too, if you want to. Just not too many. I know I can’t wear one for too long and I don’t want to hurt myself.”

Mio touches his cheek, her fingers careful on his skin. “Of course not. We’ll both keep an eye on the time and if it slips your mind, it won’t slip mine. I promise.”

The binder fits as perfectly as it is supposed to. Mio fixes the band across his back, smoothes the fabric across his skin and tugs it into place while he fixes the front the way he has to. Though he has never worn one before, he has done plenty of research, or as much as he can do in preparation for the day when he could buy one for himself. He still feels quite a bit of trepidation when he picks up a t-shirt, not used to wearing just a t-shirt outside like this.

“If you don’t want to go outside today, we don’t have to,” Mio reminds him.

Wataru shakes his head. “No, no, I do. I really do. I just… Give me just a minute to breathe and I’ll be okay. I promise you that.”

The t-shirt is a darker color to hide the red against his skin; most of his clothing will hide the binders just fine, which Taiga must have been thinking about as well. He fixes the bottom of the shirt, fixes the sleeves, tugs the collar into place and, his heart hammering a little harder than he’s used to against his ribs, he turns toward the mirror so he can see himself in the reflection. The sight makes his eyes mist over again and he covers his mouth with a hand.

With the binder in place, the front of his chest is flat. It looks like the chest of any other man and Wataru hiccups against the palm of his hand, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears. Something so small should hardly hit him so hard, and yet it does.

Mio embraces him again, pulling him into her arms. “You look so handsome,” she tells him, smoothing his hair back out of his face so she can kiss him. “You really do, Wataru. I’m so happy for you. Now come on, I’ll even buy you breakfast today.”

They walk to the Cafe mald’amour hand-in-hand and Wataru’s face aches by the time they reach the front door. Rarely does he feel so comfortable in his own body for a change but for once he feels complete, like all of the pieces are in place just this once and like no one is going to look at him twice and wonder, like everyone is going to accept him at face value. Mio smiles, too; he can feel her eyes drift to his face, to the grin that only seems to widen with each step they take until Wataru has to cover his mouth with a hand to stop himself from laughing.

He never feels this good. Hard not to drink it in.

The table near the center left of the room where they always sit is full today; Wataru does a double take and skids to a stop only a few feet into the building, a choked sound of disbelief stumbling from his lips. The five people seated around the table are more than familiar to him; Wataru would recognize the people he considers to be his family, and his brother, no matter how impossible it is for them to be in this cafe on this morning.

“Nii-san?” he croaks out.

Taiga lifts his head from his plate and grins, standing and half-climbing over his Knight so he can walk up to Wataru. “I was hoping you’d want to come out when you got your present. That was only half of it, by the way. The other half is that we all came back home to see everyone.”

Before Taiga can quite finish his explanation, Wataru throws his arms around his brother’s shoulder and yanks him into an embrace that might be half chokehold, but it’s been weeks and Wataru missed his brother. “I’m so glad to see you! And I got your present this morning, and I just… You bought me… Taiga, you really didn’t have to, but I’m so grateful.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that, Wataru. Ever. There was an American city with a well-known shop and we simply paid a visit before coming back home.” Taiga stands back, holds Wataru at arm’s length and grins at him. “You’re wearing one now, right? I’m glad. I kept remembering how much you said you wanted one. I hope half a dozen is fine.”

Wataru huffs and pushes at his brother’s chest playfully. “It’s way too many, but thank you. They’re going to get plenty of use, I can promise you that.”

“You can’t push King around like that or I’m going to have to do something about it,” a familiar voice drawls from the table, the speaker tipping Wataru a wink a moment later. “Just kidding, Wataru. Long time, no see. And hi to you, too, Mio. It’s been a long time.”

The members of Taiga’s Checkmate Four sit around the table; the speaker is the rare fifth edition to their group, the Knight Fangire, Ito Kazuo, who the power only chooses when the King will be in great danger. He stands to pull more chairs over to their table, making it big enough for all seven of them to squeeze in even if the fit is tight.

Not that Wataru minds. His knee knocks into Rook’s as he sits down, but Midori only smiles and squeezes his upper arm, drawing his eyes to the veins in her own forearm. The warm weather has allowed her to wear a sleeveless vest, all the better for showing off the muscle definition in her impressive arms, already making her one of the strongest people Wataru has met before her Fangire strength kicks in.

From across the table, Taiga’s Bishop grins and waves, the one no doubt responsible for the delivery of the package this morning. Kojima Nami is someone Wataru would have wanted in Taiga’s life if he could choose, a far cry from the man who had manipulated Taiga for his own liking; Nami is bright and bubbly and optimistic, and possesses the social skills necessary to bring everyone together no matter what happens.

And of course, Taiga’s Queen, Abe Reo, immediately sidles up to Mio to talk to her. The positions of the Checkmate Four can go to anyone, something that had been proven when the power had given Taiga a woman as his Rook and a man as his Queen. Reo towers over everyone that Wataru knows, broad-shouldered and rough around the edges but warm all the way through with a soft spot for Taiga that makes Wataru happier than he can explain.

Taiga takes Wataru’s hands across the table and over several plates of food, his deep brown eyes positively shining this morning. “I’m so glad you ended up coming here this morning, Wataru. I’m so happy to see you happy. My beloved little brother deserves only the best.”

Wataru squeezes Taiga’s fingers and refuses to let his eyes mist over again, not when everyone is here and happy. “I have the best. I have Mio, and I have you, the best brother I could ask for.”

It had been far from easy to get here, but Wataru is more than happy with the life he has now, with his friends and family, with the woman he loves who loves him back, and with himself.

What more could he possibly ask for?

**Author's Note:**

> there's gonna be more information about taiga's checkmate in later installments so stay tuned if you're interested. also trans wataru and trans taiga are the best brothers and mio is the best girlfriend.


End file.
